Mozambique: Illegal miners work for criminal gangs – government

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Mozambique: Illegal miners work for criminal gangs – government

11:44 CAT | 26 Mar 2025

Photo: MIREME

The Mozambican Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME) points to the existence of artisanal miners who work for organised crime, which poses challenges for the country, such as money laundering.

“We have observed the vandalization and invasion of various mining enterprises throughout most of the country, some of which are occupied by artisanal miners, who are presumed to be at the service of organised crime,” said the Secretary of State for Mines, Jorge Daudu, during the opening of a debate on the problems and challenges arising from artisanal mining in the country on Tuesday in Maputo.

According to Daudu, illegal mining continues to pose challenges for the country, including environmental degradation, child labour, tax evasion and money laundering.

“All of us Mozambicans are, in a way, victims of unregulated artisanal mining,” he said.

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In May, the then Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, pointed to illegal mining as one of the main challenges facing the country’s mining sector, acknowledging that many Mozambicans survive on illegal mining.

“One of the areas where we have great challenges is the mining area […] In the informal area, we have to recognise that many Mozambicans dedicate themselves to [illegal] mining as a way of making a living, without observing the environmental and safety rules that are common,” Carlos Zacarias said at the time.

Among the various mining companies operating in Mozambique, Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), which exploits rubies in northern Mozambique, has been the one to complain most about the impact of illegal mining, denouncing what it calls the “modern slavery” to which many young people are subjected, at the behest of traffickers of precious stones on the international market, in the deposits within the company’s concession.

READ: MRM calls for proactive action against ‘financing, facilitating and encouraging illegal trade in Mozambican rubies’

Since mining began in 2012, dozens of illegal miners have lost their lives in various accidents on the almost 34,000 hectares of concession that the company, which is 75% owned by the Gemfields group, has in Cabo Delgado.

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